Me and the boys...

This week, we have a team here from Lake Odessa, Michigan. They're working out in the community doing several different things with Steve. We're adding on an upstairs apartment to the church so that the pastor will have a more private place to live than in the kitchen/bedroom combo that is the church's and makes up his home. So the group is helping out with that addition, plus doing a daily soccer tournament, plus helping out with the sewing classes. More about that at www.wilsonsworldmexico.blogspot.com.

And what does all that have to do with me? Well-- it's just one of those weeks where Steve leaves the house before I'm out of bed in the morning and gets home when I'm putting the kids to bed at night. AKA...long days with three little guys!!! Monday & Tuesday went really well. I think the novelty ofthe "Good Behavior" Chart still propelled my big boys toward just that---good behavior. Something happened today though. Phew. Today I'm having to talk myself through the day, "They won't always be little like this, Heather. Hang in there...you can do it!" And then there's little (or NOT so little) Matthew. Have you ever seen a baby that's so juicy chubby and so smiley and happy that you could just eat him up? I have. :-) He's sleeping right behing me in his pack and play. But the beautiful thing is that I don't thin that way of him only when he's sleeping. :-) He really is like - the most content, happy, wonderful baby ever! Thank you Jesus for knowing my limits! :-) He's 4 1/2 months old now, and he's big enough to be like 9 months old, I think. I took him for his 4 month check-up yesterday. He weighs 20 lbs. 4 oz. (HOLY COW!) and 27 1/3 inches. He is chubby chubby chubby, and I just love it.

For your biewing pleasure, I thought I'd stick a few pictures in here from our recent vacation to Michigan. We just got back a week and a half ago. Man, we had a GREAT time! It was the first time that we got to be together with the whole McClain family as married couples!!! We had such a blast. It was great to get to know Ashley, Joey's wife, a little better (love you, girl!), and as always we loved being with Amita and Josh, and with my parents. Here are some pics for you. Enjoy! Tired little Matthew with some drool ready to fall
Quick foto op halfway around Mackinac Island on our bike ride

YES! We ran in our first 15k (that's 9.3 miles) and MADE IT! :-)

My sweet Grandma Katherine (92 years old), me, and Matty

Look at those pretty flowers, Meme!

Uncle Josh is practicing up for his own one day. He liked me a LOT. He was really cozy to me, too. We're standing in front of the Grand Hotel here. Mommy says that if you haven't seen the old movie entitled, "Somewhere in Time" you need to see it. It was filmed on Mackinac Island here at the Grand Hotel. (Rates start around $400 a night I believe. We didn't stay there, by the way. :-)

The boys on the coast of the island

Read to ride- Tandem Style! We had a blast!

Man, I love this guy! Isn't he just gorgeous?

Here's everyone at my cousin Tammy's house at our McCain Family reunion.

Playing at the Sleeping Bear Dunes

I think those other two couples need some kids to balance out the picture.

Great Grandma Katherine and Matthew

Ian and Tyler did AWESOME at the Cherry Pie Eating Contest! Tyler even made it in the paper. I'll have to scan that in and stick it on here another time. :-)

We rented a house on Long Lake. Both the boys caught their first fish!

Go Tyler GO! We coached him for like MONTHS before this contest that he had to be the first to finish his pie! So- even after they awarded him the first place ribbon, he kept right on eating!

Aunt Ashley and the boys. The funny things is, they look like they could be hers, don't they?!

Family picture...CHERRY STYLE

With Art and Connie Hooker at their AMAZING bed and breakfast!

Uncle Joey, Aunt Ashley, and Ty

All tired out

3rd Time's a Charm...Matthew Braedon Is Here!

Hi girls!

Matthew will be 3 weeks old tomorrow, so I thought I better blog a bit before I forget too many of the details surrounding his birth! For those of you who like all the juicy details, here you go...

My mom arrived here on March 4th for a 2 week visit with us. We all assumed she'd have the better part of the 2 weeks with Matthew. The best laid plans of mice and men... So she flew in on Sunday the 4th, and Monday I woke up miserably sick with a serious cough, high fever, sore throat, etc. I was extremely nervous about going into labor feeling that way. I knew there was NO WAY I could make it through labor as sick as I felt. So though I was dying to have Matthew in my arms by this point, God was taking good care of me in not letting him be born til I felt better! That was Monday the 5th. All week long I spent laying around and getting better. My mom and I made a curtain for baby's room, hung out, etc, all the while getting more and more and MORE anxious to give birth since the days with her were ticking away. By Wednesday the 7th (the day before my due date), I was feeling pretty bummed because my doctor had to head out of town the next morning. I was sad/mad that he would leave town ON my due date when he knew how much I wanted to have a natural delivery and how I was concerned about getting pushed by someone else to have a c-section.

You know---- I should really trust God more! (Forgive me, Lord!) I was pretty worried about ending up with a C-section here just because even my doc kept being like, “oh my—this is a biiiiig baby”, etc… Well, my doctor ended up leaving town the next morning. No baby yet. That was another added stress, because I didn’t know the doc that he was leaving me with. Well, on Monday the 12th, 4 days after my due date, I desperately called and scheduled an appointment just to check on the possibilities of being induced. My mom was only here for 6 more days, and that time was ticking away! So, on Monday night, I had an appointment with the doctor—a LADY!!!! (YAY!)—that I was left with. Dr. Teresa Zamora was wonderful! She made me feel totally at ease with the fact that I wanted to have this baby naturally, etc. And—she was a girl---- rubbed my tummy, etc…. all that girly kind of stuff that the male docs just can’t pull off so well! Ha! So—I just felt like Jesus took such good care of me and – in the absence my wonderful midwives in Albany- I still had a woman doc! That was great! So anyway, she stripped my membranes for a good couple of minutes and said I was 2 cm. We came home and from that point on (8 pm or so) I started having contractions regularly. Steve and I went for a walk for an hour or so, and during the walk my contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart. We called Teresa at about 10:30 to tell her I thought I was in labor but that we were staying home for a while longer. My contractions were about 3 minutes apart and fairly strong while I was out walking, but then when I came back home (I was tired!), they slowed back to about 10 minutes apart. So—I went to bed (sitting up to keep baby’s head pressure down! Haha don’t know if that makes any sense or not, but I did it!) at about 1 am and slept between contractions until about 4 am. I was definitely waking up for the contractions-- they were quite intense. At 4 I told steve that I thought maybe we should start getting ready to go because I thought maybe the contractions would get closer together when I wasn’t just sitting in bed. So on the way to the hospital I already started feeling a really slight urge to push (oops! Maybe we waited a bit tooo long! Ha). We got to the hospital at 4:55 am, got me in the birthing room and I was checked---- I was 5 cm. The doc wasn’t there yet, and I could tell things were moving quickly. She got there maybe at about 10 after 5 and told me she’d check me again at around 6:15 (inside I was thinking, “I’m not going to make it to 6:15!"). Meanwhile, since I was at a teaching hospital, there was a student standing over me asking me questions like, “How do you feel? How are your contractions? When did your labor start?” etc. I was in transition at this point! So I finally yelled, “I can’t answer this crap right now!” (Oops- a little rude!). He kindly left me alone. Haha!

Thankfully, my mom was there too, because Steve was dragged down to the first floor to check me in. I was saying, “NO! You can’t go right now honey!” But the med staff said, “You HAVE to have her checked in before she has this baby.” He kindly agreed to go, but after 5 minutes of the process, he finally said, “My wife is about to have a baby!” And he left them mid-process! While he was gone, I was already starting to have an urge to push and noone was in the room except my mom! She ran out to the nurses station to tell them I wanted to push. So then everyone started rushing in, and Steve came back in somewhere in there! The med staff threw scrubs at Steve and my mom to put on. As I was trying to go from my side to my back, I was already starting to push. As I started to push, my water broke and then probably within 3 minutes or so, Matthew made his grand entry into the world at 6:05am! I tore (of course), but the whole thing went wonderfully well! Labor sure is INTENSE when you go that fast! Phew! I didn’t have an IV, or monitors on or anything! Yay! Matthew weighed 9 lbs. 2 oz (just an ounce bigger than Tyler!) and was 21 ¼ inches long. (We think that all of the med students and everyone were pretty surprised at how quickly I went... especially when about 70% of the births are C-sections. All of the medical staff was wonderful! I felt really really well taken care of. So- it was a great Mexico delivery experience! )

I was able to hold Matthew for an hour or so before they took him off to the nursery to bathe him and all. What magical moments those first moments with your child are! I always want to freeze my children's faces into my mind so as to never forget that angelic gift, and yet somehow they grow up so quickly and my memory fades...

I'm LOVING being a mommy to a newborn again, and as crazy as it sounds, I already envy people like Sue Pak Bae who are going to be giving birth any day now. What a miraculous experience. It's intense for sure, but absolutely exhilerating.

Oh - a couple more details. Matthew has lighter brown hair than Ian and Tyler had when they were born, and a little less of it. He has pretty blue eyes that seem to be lightening more and more each day. He is already filling out and putting on his little "chubby suit" as we like to call it.
He seems to have Ian's wider nose over the bridge of his nose, but really beyond that, I don't know who he looks like. His light brown hair has a hint of red to it. His hair combined with his coloring makes us think he looks like a ruddy irishman--- that's good, since his middle name is Irish! Thank you Jesus, Matthew is a really easy-going baby. God certainly knows what we can handle! With two other active little boys, it's a blessing that Matthew is laid-back. Oh ya, and at 1 week he already weighed like 9 lbs. 12 oz. I wonder what he weighs now at 3 weeks?!...

Oh, and since I hadn't shared his name with you before he was born, I'll tell you about his name. :-) Steve really does get set on names and can't seem to leave them, so that's what happened in part, anyway. Steve really like Matthew early on in my pregnancy. For me, it was a pretty average name. But-- it grew on me. But what probably sold it for me was the fact that the two Matthews that we know well are both really amazing people-- one being Steve's cousin Matthew Killinder, and the other being Matthew Jett--one of our best friends in the world from our time in language school in Costa Rica. Matt Killinder is the kind of person that you just love being around. He's warm and funny and loving. He also has an incredible servant's heart. And Matthew Jett is also really fun to be around. There's never a dull moment with him around. He's a people-person-- the kind of guy that just draws people to himself and makes them feel totally at ease. He's got a super compassionate heart and a deep love for Jesus. He's not afraid to be exactly who he is. We love all of these traits in these two guys, and we'd be delighted for even a few of those traits to be a part of who our little Matthew is! And the Braedon part-- well, I've always liked the name and just finally convinced Steve this time around that we should use it. :-)

Matthew- "Gift of God"
Braedon- "Brave"

Thank you for walking on this journey with me! I'll try to post every now and then! Please keep me posted on your lives as well!!!

With love,
Heather

Could it be????

I thought that I was in labor in the night last night. I woke up at about 2:30 with contractions that were fairly consistent for several hours. Steve and I got up and got last minute things done to be ready to leave for the hospital. Around 5:30am though, the contractions waned and we were able to get a couple hours' more sleep.

I have a doc appointment in just a few minutes here. We'll see if I've dilated at all or anything! We're really excited and ready to DO THIS! :-)

We'll try to keep you posted, though it'll be a little difficult from the hospital (if I end up there today).

love you all!
heather

Me & April. :-)

Ladies in black and white- Sunday after church. Me, Debora, April & Isabel.

Shocking, isn't it?!

Here's part of the group at the shower.

Just how big AM I? :-)

Pictured here are Isabel & Emma. They threw the shower pictured above for me--- complete with Isabel's chicken enchiladas (YUMMY!), frijoles charros, salad, yummy desserts, and more!

The moms from Tyler's preschool threw a shower for me. Aren't they beautiful?! :-)


Hi girls!

I'm on the final countdown----- yippeeee!!!! The end is in sight, and I am happy about that! I had an appointment this past Saturday. My doctor almost immediately began to tell me that he was going to do "a procedure that doctors do called 'stripping the membranes.'" Mind you-- i'm not into being induced, and especially not into trying to get things going before I've even made it to my due date! So....I lightheartedly, yet forcefully, let him know that I didn't want him to do that yet--- that I was only 38 weeks 2 days, and that I just didn't see a need for it yet! My dear friend April was with me (she flew down to visit me for the weekend--- what an angel!) and was in shell-shock that he would even propose to do that so early. ha! so--- I fended off that one. However, he also informed me that he has to go out of town on March 9th-- a day after I'm due! He continues to be visibly anxious about the size of this baby. He was telling me that the doctors he'd have to leave me with (none of whom I have met) would be really freaked out to have to deliver this baby (because he's "so large"). I keep reassuring him that I can do it. So-- please just pray that the baby would decide to come early next week so none of this will be an issue!

I've had two showers in the last couple of weeks- what blessings (obviously pictured above)! I didn't think I would even have 1 here, so I was really happy to have some friends who wanted to celebrate this little boy with me. :-) An added blessing was having one of my dearest friends in the world here for the weekend! April Jett (a fellow language school student in Costa Rica) flew down to visit me last weekend-- what a treat!!!!!

Love ya'll,
Heather

36 Weeks & Counting

I had another appointment yesterday (Wednesday). Baby's head is nicely in position, and he's apparently growing nicely. (Somehow I gained almost 4 pounds in 10 days... WHAT?!) The doc thinks that baby weighs about 6 pounds 13 ounces right now--much to doc's concern. It was kinda a funny appointment-- I was telling him, "Tranquilo! No se preocupe. Tyler peso 9 libras y nacio despues de pujar solamente 4 minutos!" Relax. Don't worry! Tyler weighed 9 pounds and was born after my pushing for only 4 minutes! Funny that I was trying to calm down the doc's worries instead of the other way around. He was telling me he really hoped the baby weighed closer to 8 pounds and not 9....I was joking with him that I just had to be able to get the head out and after that, it didn't really matter if he's chubby. hehe

We're pretty sure we have his name picked out. :-) His room is about ready for him. And- we are ready for him to come...especially I am!

Love ya'll,
~H

Countdown Time...

Hi girls,

I had an appointment on Friday and found out that the baby weighs around 2 kilos 700 grams, or about 6 pounds. The doc was trying to tell me that he wasn't going to be a big baby....until he finished the ultrasound and realized that he weighed that much and i still had 6 weeks to go!!!

What else--- the baby's head is down still--yay!

Oh- and I only gained 2.2 pounds this last month---- wow! somehow I was gaining like 5 pounds every month for a few months there!

I'll keep you posted....

Love,
Heather

So maybe I WILL make it 7 more weeks!

Hi girls,

Well, that lovely medicine and the resting apparently helped me out last week, because I am doing much better now. My contractions stopped, and now I just feel like I should feel 7 weeks out from my due date. (I'm having contractions every now and then, but normal BH ones--- not bothersome ones like before.)

Steve and I are both getting really excited to meet this new little person!!! I've never been much for really common names (although I did just read that Tyler has been on the list of top 10 names in the US the last 5 years!), but this time around, Steve suggested a common name and it hasn't left us yet. So-- his name may be...... oh just kidding! We've decided not to tell until he's born! Even though we've mentioned the name idea to the boys, they're not seeming to go for it! Tyler still calls the baby Shoompy McClain (he made up that name, obviously!), and Ian wants his name to be one of the following: Daniel Flores, Elias, Luis, Mario Alfredo, or Carlos (can you tell that Ian is now Mexican? :-) hehe). Well, for some reason none of those names are sitting well with us! So- we'll see what name wins.

I really can't wait to see the look on the doc's and nurses' faces when this baby is born, because I'm not guessing that he will weigh any less than Tyler, which was 9 lbs. 1 oz. The Mexicans consider a 7 lb. baby to be big! I guess we'll have the "toddler" in the nursery!

I feel a bit presumptuous even mentioning this, but a few of you have asked if there are things that we could use here. Avalon girlfriends--- boy do we wish we had our beautiful glider rocker that you all pitched in on to buy for us! (Maybe we'll get to rock another baby in it if we have a 4th....we'll see!) Too bad it's in storage in Atlanta! For that matter-- too bad everything for a baby is in storage in GA, but it's pretty difficult to get it here! So- we keep telling ourselves that many of those things- though really nice to have- are luxuries compared to what our friends in Nueva Almaguer have to work with when they have babies. :-) Having said that, we've put just a few things on baby registries at www.target.com and www.babiesrus.com. Obviously, none of it is critical, but would be nice/helpful. I take that back-- diapers are always critical! :-) If you want to send something, please send it to:

Steve & Heather Wilson

1209 San Dario Ave.

PMB 7-335

Laredo, TX 78040

Toodles for now, girls!

The very large....Heather :-)

An Eventful Weekend

It’s been an interesting few days. Blame it on old age (haha), my 3rd pregnancy, and/or taking care of two other roudy boys and a husband, but somehow on Friday, I started having a quite uncomfortable pain on the right side of my belly that also wrapped around to my back. It’s left me sleeping quite uncomfortably at night. Added to the pain were a few more contractions than I felt like were normal for being at 32 weeks.

So the long story short is that we went in to the hospital this morning (doc's orders) so I could be checked out. I was hooked up to a monitor and was having contractions every 5 minutes. Thankfully, I haven’t dilated at all, though my cervix was soft, so Enrique told me. Speaking of Doctor Enrique Saldívar, I haven’t had a male doctor since I went to get on birth control before I got married! It’s been midwives ever since! Boy did I enjoy having to spread for not only my doctor, but also the two residents (a young guy and girl) present and a couple of nurses! Talk about a room-full! I was really wishing Steve & I spoke a 3rd language at that moment so that I could just speak with Steve and get my mind off of it! Instead, I stared around at the ceiling (you know you’ve done the same thing!) just chuckling to myself.

That was followed by being informed that I am on bedrest for a few days. I am also on some lovely suppository medicine that is supposed to stop the contractions. (Do you think it will take away the pain in my side as well? I hope so!) Though I would often like to be done being pregnant, I really do not want to go through having a preemie!

Thank you Jesus that nothing had really progressed!

7 weeks, 6 days and counting……

Toodles,
Heather